The Denver Nuggets suffered a difficult season-ending defeat Sunday to the Portland Trail Blazers, and a few of their players didn’t perform when the team needed them most.
Center Nikola Jokic went 11-for-26 from the field, missing several key shots down the stretch in the fourth quarter. Coach Michael Malone admitted after the defeat that Jokic took responsibility for the 100-96 loss in the locker room, but Malone refused to assign the blame to him.
Michael Malone got emotional while saying Nikola Jokic took blame for the loss. Malone said it wasn’t his fault.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) May 12, 2019
In truth, Denver’s defeat was a team effort. Jokic did not have a great shooting night, but Jamal Murray went 4-of-18 and failed to knock down any of his four three point tries. Combine that with some huge moments from Portland’s star players and you have a recipe for defeat.
